CHESTERFIELD, MO. — The St. Louis office of Walton Construction has completed Chesterfield Medical Institute, a two-story, 20,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center and medical office building located in Chesterfield. Tenants at the $6.8 million project include Laser & Dermatologic Surgery Center, West County Dermatology and Generation Dental Group. The project architect was Feeler Scheer Architects.
MONTGOMERY, ILL. — Inland Real Estate Brokerage has negotiated the sale of a 12,903-square-foot retail center located in Montgomery. The three-tenant property, which is situated near the intersection of Route 30 and Douglass Road, is currently occupied by a Merlin's Muffler and Sound Experience. The buyer, a Chicagoland investor, plans to bring in an auto repair shop as the third tenant. Rich Artman of Inland's Yorkville, Ill., office represented the buyer as well as the seller, a REIT. The property traded for $720,000.
LINCOLN, NEB. — A joint venture between Omaha, Neb.-based Dial Realty Corp. and Kinseth Hospitality Corp. has opened the Hampton Inn & Suites – Northeast I-80 in Lincoln. The four-story, 83-room hotel is located within the Salt Creek Center development at the interchange of Interstate 80 and North 27th Street. It features meeting space, an indoor swimming pool, a fitness center and a business center. Kinseth is operating the hotel under a franchise agreement with Hilton Hotels Corp.
MONROE, WIS. — Lee & Associates has completed six new leases at The Marketplace at Monroe, a new 31,000-square-foot shopping center currently under construction in Monroe. The new tenants include Maurice's, Dollar Tree, Anytime Fitness, The Cash Store, Verizon Wireless and Shoe Department. Currently, 6,200 square feet remains for lease at the center. Steve Doran and Jared Flesch of Lee & Associates represented the landlord and developer of the center, Memphis-based Marketplace Development, in all lease transactions.
ROCHESTER HILLS, MICH. — CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has brokered a 17,235-square-foot industrial lease at 2667 Product Dr. in Rochester Hills. Active Tools USA will occupy the space and plans to use it for engineering product design and testing. Gene Agnone and Lauren Scarpace of CBRE's Detroit office represented the tenant in lease negotiations. The landlord is Product Drive Company LLC.
MADISON HEIGHTS AND WARREN, MICH. — L. Mason Capitani/CORFAC International (LMC) has negotiated two Michigan industrial leases. In the first transaction, Advanced Communications signed a lease for 13,587 square feet at 29815 John R Rd. in Madison Heights. Michael Grammatico and Garry Rogers of LMC represented the undisclosed landlord. In addition, Loadstar Removal Corp. signed a lease for an 11,200-square-foot building at 21986 Schmeman Ave. in Warren. Grammatico and Tom Jablonski, also of LMC, represented the tenant. The landlord was not disclosed.
ROMEOVILLE, ILL. — Meridian Design Build has completed construction for Bluff Point III Distribution Facility, located within Bluff Point Business Park in Romeoville. The building, which is situated at the intersection of Joliet and Bluff roads, totals 506,800 square feet. It features 30-foot clear ceiling heights, with the capability for up to 168 exterior docks and four drive-in doors. The developer of the project, as well as the rest of Bluff Point Business Park, is Land & Lakes Development Co. The project architect for Bluff Point III was Harris Architects.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. — The final phase of construction is complete for The Courtyards Student Apartments, an 896-bed student housing communication located at 1780 Broadway in Ann Arbor, adjacent to the North Campus of the University of Michigan. The community comprises three four-story buildings with a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units, all of which are fully furnished. Amenities include barbecue and picnic areas, an outdoor badminton court, a fitness center, study and meeting rooms and a movie room with surround sound. The 282-unit first phase was completed in August 2008, and the 298-bed second phase opened this May. The Courtyards Student Apartments is owned by Ann Arbor Campus Housing LLC, an affiliate of Kensington Realty Advisors (KRA), and is managed by Allen & O'Hara Education Services, the property management subsidiary of Education Realty Trust. Kensington Marquette Partners LLC, another affiliate of KRA, developed the community along with Allen & O'Hara.
ALSIP, ILL. — Labriola Baking Co. has signed a long-term lease that will expand and relocate its headquarters to Alsip. The bread maker now occupies 177,500 square feet at 3701 W. 128th Place. Its previous location, also in Alsip, was at 5324 W. 123rd Place. Larry Johnson of CB Richard Ellis represented Labriola in lease negotiations. Brad Weiner, George Maragos and Steve Livaditis, all of CB Richard Ellis, represented the landlord, Madison Partners Realty. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.
Despite a lack of sales or new construction projects, the Milwaukee office market has maintained a steady level of activity this year. “We’re busier this year than we were last year. Whether it’s productive for the economy is debatable, but it is productive for brokers,” says Bill Bonifas, executive vice president with CB Richard Ellis’ Milwaukee office. Many of the deals Bonifas and other brokers in the city are working on are blend and extend deals, in which the landlord renews a tenant early and for a longer term in exchange for concessions, usually consisting of free or discounted rent. “Right now, the psychology is that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so the smart owners are doing what they have to do to complete deals and keep their existing tenants,” Bonifas says. Tenants in Milwaukee are happy to sign these deals, since it provides them with savings today. Landlords are also content because they have tenants secured in their properties, which helps keep the asset stable and puts the landlord in a better position to refinance the property. The landlord may be giving up some rent, but the tradeoff is worth it. “It looks like …